CMP polishing compound and polishing method

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a CMP polishing slurry, comprising cerium oxide particles, a dispersing agent, a water-soluble polymer and water, wherein the water-soluble polymer is a compound having a skeleton of any one of an N-mono-substituted product and an N,N-di-substituted product of any one selected from the group consisting of acrylamide, methacrylamide and α-substituted products thereof. The amount of the water-soluble polymer is preferably in the range of 0.01 part or more by weight and 10 parts or less by weight for 100 parts by weight of the polishing slurry. Thus it is possible to provide a polishing slurry and a polishing method which make it possible to polish a film made of silicon oxide or the like effectively and rapidly and further control the process therefor easily in CMP technique for flattening an interlayer insulating film, a BPSG film, an insulator film for shallow trench isolation, and other films.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a CMP polishing slurry forsemiconductor insulating films which is used in the step of flattening asubstrate surface, in particular, the step of flattening an interlayerinsulating film or a BPSG (boron and phosphorus doped silicon dioxide)film, the step of producing shallow trench isolation, and other steps,which are associated with semiconductor element producing technique; anda method for polishing a substrate by use of the CMP polishing slurry.

BACKGROUND ART

Current ultra large scale integrated circuits have a tendency that thepacking density thereof is increased, and various fine processingtechniques are being researched and developed. The existing design ruleis a rule in the order of sub-half-micron. One technique developed tosatisfy such a severe desired for the shrinkage of the size is CMP(chemical mechanical polishing) technique. In the process for producingsemiconductor devices, this technique makes it possible to flattencompletely layers to be exposed to light, decrease a burden on exposuretechnique, and make the yield stable; therefore, the technique becomesessential at the time of flattening an interlayer insulating film or aBPSG film, performing shallow trench isolation, and attaining others.

Hitherto, a fumed silica based polishing slurry has been generallyinvestigated as a CMP polishing slurry for flattening an inorganicinsulator film, such as a silicon oxide insulator film, which is formedby plasma CVD (chemical vapor deposition), low-pressure CVD or someother method. The fumed silica based polishing slurry is produced bygrowing silica-grains in a manner of the thermal decomposition ofsilicon tetrachloride or in some other manner, and then adjusting the pHthereof. However, such a polishing slurry does not have a sufficientpolishing rate for polishing inorganic insulator films, and thus has atechnical problem of a low polishing rate against the practical usethereof.

About conventional techniques for flattening an interlayer insulatingfilm, the polishing rate has dependency on the pattern of a film to bepolished on a substrate. Thus, in accordance with the difference in thedensity of the pattern or the difference in the size thereof, the rateof polishing convex regions therein is largely varied and further thepolishing of concave regions therein also advances unfavorably.Consequently, there remains a technique problem that the whole of asurface of a wafer cannot be flattened at a high level.

In the CMP technique for flattening an interlayer insulating film, it isnecessary to end the polishing in the middle of the interlayerinsulating film, and a process-controlling method of controlling thepolish amount dependently on polishing time is generally performed.However, the polishing rate is remarkably changed by a change in theshape of steps in a pattern, the condition of a polishing cloth, andothers. Accordingly, the technique has a problem that the processthereof is not easily controlled.

In the generation of a 0.5-μm or more design rule, LOCOS (localoxidation of silicon) was used to isolate elements in integratedcircuits. When the dimension for working is made finer thereafter, atechnique for making the isolation width of elements narrow is required.Thus, shallow trench isolation is being used. In the shallow trenchisolation, CMP is used to remove an excess of a silicon oxide filmformed on a substrate, and a stopper film, about which the rate thatthis film is polished is slow, is formed beneath the silicon oxide filmin order to stop the polishing. In the stopper film, silicon nitride orthe like is used, and it is desired that the ratio between the rate thatthe silicon nitride film is polished and the rate that the stopper filmis polished is large.

Meanwhile, a cerium oxide polishing slurry is used as a glass surfacepolishing slurry for photo-masks, lenses and others. Cerium oxideparticles have a lower hardness than silica particles or aluminaparticles. Accordingly, polished surfaces are not easily scratched. Forthis reason, the polishing slurry is useful for mirror-finish polishing.Attention is paid to this matter to suggest a cerium oxide polishingslurry (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-353175). However,this cerium oxide polishing slurry has a problem that flatteningperformance, which has been severely desired in recent years, is notalways sufficient.

In light of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention providesa polishing slurry and polishing method which are capable of polishing asilicon oxide film effectively and rapidly and which also make theprocess-control of the polishing easy in CPM technique for flattening aninterlayer insulating film, a BPSG film and an insulator film forshallow trench isolation.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The CMP polishing slurry of the present invention relates to (1) a CMPpolishing slurry, comprising cerium oxide particles, a dispersing agent,a water-soluble polymer and water, wherein the water-soluble polymer isa compound having a skeleton of any one of an N-mono-substituted productand an N,N-di-substituted product of any one selected from the groupconsisting of acrylamide, methacrylamide and α-substituted productsthereof.

(2) The CMP polishing slurry of the invention relates to the CMPpolishing slurry according to the above-mentioned (1), wherein thewater-soluble polymer is a polymer containing a recurring unit made ofat least one polymerizable monomer selected from the group consisting ofthe following general formula (I):

wherein R₁ represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, a phenyl group, abenzyl group, a chloro group, a difluoromethyl group, a trifluoromethylgroup, or a cyano group; and R₂ and R₃ each independently represent ahydrogen atom, an alkyl chain of C₁ to C₁₈, a methylol group, or anacetyl group provided that the case that both of R₂ and R₃ are hydrogenatoms is excluded; and the following general formula (II):

wherein R₁ is identical with R₁ in the formula (I), that is, R₁represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, a phenyl group, a benzylgroup, a chloro group, a difluoromethyl group, a trifluoromethyl group,or a cyano group;, and R₄ represents a morpholino group, athiomorpholino group, a pyrrolidino group, or a piperidino group.

(3) The CMP polishing slurry of the invention relates to the CMPpolishing slurry according to the above-mentioned (1) or (2), whereinthe added amount of the water-soluble polymer is 0.01 part or more byweight and 10 parts or less by weight for 100 parts by weight of thepolishing slurry.

Furthermore, the substrate-polishing method of the present invention is(4) a polishing method for polishing a film to be polished, wherein asubstrate on which the film is formed is pushed against a polishingcloth of a polishing table, pressure is applied to the substrate, andthen the film to be polished on the substrate and the polishing clothare relatively moved while the CMP polishing slurry according to any oneof the above-mentioned (1) to (3) is supplied between the film and thepolishing cloth.

Best Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

In general, cerium oxide can be obtained by oxidizing a cerium compoundof a carbonate, nitrate, sulfate or oxalate. The cerium oxide polishingslurry used to polish a silicon oxide film formed by TEOS-CVD or thelike tend to make higher-speed polishing possible but undergo scratchesmore easily as the primary particle size thereof is larger and thecrystal strain thereof is smaller, that is, the crystallinity thereof isbetter. Thus, the crystallite diameter of the cerium oxide is preferably5 nm or more and 300 nm or less although the process for producing thecerium oxide particles used in the present invention is not limited. Thecontent by percentage of alkali metals and halogens in the cerium oxideparticles is preferably controlled into 10 ppm or less since thepolishing slurry of the invention is used to polish substratesassociated with the production of semiconductors.

In the present invention, firing or oxidization with hydrogen peroxideor the like can be used as a method for producing cerium oxide powder.The temperature for the firing is preferably 350° C. or higher and 900°C. or lower.

Since the cerium oxide particles produced by the above-mentioned processaggregate, it is preferred to pulverize the particles mechanically. Themethod for the pulverization is preferably a dry pulverizing methodusing a jet mill or the like, or a wet pulverizing method using aplanetary bead mill or the like. The jet mill is described in, forexample, Chemical Engineering Paper Collection (Kagaku KougakuRonbunsyu) vol. 6, No. 5 (1980), 527-532.

The CMP polishing slurry in the present invention is obtained, forexample, by dispersing a composition composed of cerium oxide particleshaving the above-mentioned characteristics, a dispersing agent and waterand further adding thereto a water-soluble polymer and additives, whichwill be described later. The order of the addition of the respectivecomponents is not limited.

The concentration of the cerium oxide particles in the CMP polishingslurry is not limited, and is preferably within the range of 0.5% byweight or more to 20% by weight or less since the dispersion (slurry) iseasily handled.

Since the dispersing agent is used to polish substrates associated withthe production of semiconductors, the content of alkali metals such assodium and potassium ions, halogens and sulfur therein is preferablycontrolled into 10 ppm or less. Preferable is, for example, a polymericdispersing agent containing an ammonium salt of acrylic acid as apolymerizable monomer component. It is allowable to use two or moredispersing agents including: a polymeric dispersing agent which containsan ammonium salt of acrylic acid as a polymerizable monomer component;and at least one selected from water-soluble anionic dispersing agents,water-soluble nonionic dispersing agents, water-soluble cationicdispersing agents, and water-soluble amphoteric dispersing agents.

Examples of the water-soluble anionic dispersing agents includetriethanolamine laurylsulfate, ammonium laurylsulfate, triethanolaminepolyoxyethylenealkylethersulfate, and especial polycarboxylic acid typepolymeric dispersing agents. Examples of the water-soluble nonionicdispersing agents include polyoxyethylene lauryl ether, polyoxyethylenecetyl ether, polyoxyethylene stearyl ether, polyoxyethylene oleyl ether,polyoxyethylene higher-alcohol ether, polyoxyethylene octyl phenylether, polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether, polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether,polyoxyethylene derivatives, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate,polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate, polyoxyethylene sorbitanmonostearate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate, polyoxyethylenesorbitan monooleate, polyoxyethylene sorbitan trioleate, polyethylenesorbitol tetraoleate, polyethylene glycol monolaurate, polyethyleneglycol monostearate, polyethylene glycol distearate, polyethylene glycolmonooleate, polyoxyethylene alkylamine, polyoxyethylene hardened castoroil, and alkylalkanolamide. Examples of the water-soluble cationicdispersing agents include polyvinyl pyrrolidone, coconut amine acetate,and stearylamine acetate. Examples of the water-soluble amphotericdispersing agents include laurylbetaine, stearylbetaine,lauryldimethylamine oxide, and2-alkyl-N-carboxymethyl-N-hydroxyethylimidazolinium betaine.

The added amount of these dispersing agents is preferably 0.01 part ormore by weight and 2.0 or less parts by weight for 100 parts by weightof the cerium oxide particles from the viewpoint of the dispersibilityand precipitation-prevention of the particles in the polishing slurryand the relationship between polish scratches and the added amount ofthe dispersing agents. The molecular weight of the dispersing agents ispreferably from 100 to 50,000, more preferably from 1,000 to 10,000. Ifthe molecular weight of the dispersing agents is less than 100, asufficient polishing rate cannot be obtained when a silicon oxide filmor silicon nitride film is polished. If the molecular weight of thedispersing agents is more than 50,000, the viscosity becomes high sothat the storage stability of the CMP polishing slurry becomes low.

As a method for dispersing these cerium oxide particles into water,there can be used a homogenizer, an ultrasonic disperser, a wet ballmill or the like besides dispersing treatment with an ordinary stirringmachine.

The average particle size of the cerium oxide particles in the thusproduced CMP polishing slurry is preferably from 0.01 to 1.0 μm. If theaverage particle size of the cerium oxide particles is less than 0.01μm, the polishing rate becomes too low. If the size is more than 1.0 μm,a film to be polished is easily scratched.

About the average particle size of the cerium oxide particles in theinvention, the slurry is diluted into an appropriate concentration ifnecessary, the particle sizes of the resultant are measured with a laserdiffraction type particle size distribution meter, and the central valueof the particle sizes is adopted.

The water-soluble polymer in the invention is not limited to anyespecial kind if the polymer is a compound having a skeleton of anyoneof an N-mono-substituted product and an N,N-di-substituted product ofany one selected from the group consisting of acrylamide, methacrylamideand α-substituted products thereof.

The water-soluble polymer is preferably a compound which is yielded byradical polymerization or the like and has a weight-average molecularweight of 500 or more.

The water-soluble polymer is preferably a polymer containing a recurringunit made of at least one polymerizable monomer selected from the groupof monomers represented by the following general formula (I) and thegeneral formula (II):

A copolymer using both of the monomers represented by the generalformulas (I) and (II) can also be used.

In the general formula (I), R₁ represents a hydrogen atom, a methylgroup, a phenyl group, a benzyl group, a chloro group, a difluoromethylgroup, a trifluoromethyl group, or a cyano group; and R₂ and R₃ eachindependently represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl chain of C₁ to C₁₈, amethylol group, or an acetyl group provided that the case that both ofR₂ and R₃ are hydrogen is excluded.

In the general formula (II), R₁ is identical with R₁ in the formula (I),that is, R₁ represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, a phenyl group,a benzyl group, a chloro group, a difluoromethyl group, atrifluoromethyl group, or a cyano group. R₄ represents a morpholinogroup, a thiomorpholino group, a pyrrolidino group, or a piperidinogroup.

Examples of a monomer other than the general formulas (I) and (II)include radical-polymerizable monomers such as acrylic acid, acrylicacid esters of C₁ to C₁₈, methacrylic acid, methacrylic acid esters ofC₁ to C₁₈, acrylamide, vinyl alcohol, acrylonitrile, vinylpyrrolidone,vinylpyridine, vinyl acetate, maleic acid, fumaric acid, itaconic acid,and p-styrene carboxylic acid.

Examples of the compound having a skeleton of any one of anN-mono-substituted product and an N,N-di-substituted product of any oneselected from the group consisting of acrylamide, methacrylamide andα-substituted products thereof include compounds having anN-mono-substituted product skeleton, such as N-methylacrylamide,N-ethylacrylamide, N-propylacrylamide, N-isopropylacrylamide,N-butylacrylamide, N-isobutylacrylamide, N-t-butylacrylamide,N-heptylacrylamide, N-octylacrylamide, N-t-octylacrylamide,N-dodecylacrylamide, N-octadecylacrylamide, N-methylolacrylamide,N-acetylacrylamide, N-diacetoneacrylamide, N-methylmethacrylamide,N-ethylmethacrylamide, N-propylmethacrylamide,N-isopropylmethacrylamide, N-butylmethacrylamide,N-isobutylmethacrylamide, N-t-butylmethacrylamide,N-heptylmethacrylamide, N-octylmethacrylamide, N-t-octylmethacrylamide,N-dodecylmethacrylamide, N-octadecylmethacrylamide,N-methylolmethacrylamide, N-acetylmethacrylamide, andN-diacetonemethacrylamide; and compounds having an N,N-di-substitutedproduct skeleton such as N,N-dimethylacrylamide, N,N-diethylacrylamide,N,N-dipropylacrylamide, N,N-diisopropylacrylamide,N,N-dibutylacrylamide, N,N-diisobutylacrylamide,N,N-di-t-butylacrylamide, N,N-diheptylacrylamide, N,N-dioctylacrylamide,N,N-di-t-octylacrylamide, N,N-didodecylacrylamide,N,N-dioctadecylacrylamide, N,N-dimethylolacrylamide,N,N-diacetylacrylamide, N,N-didiacetoneacrylamide,N,N-dimethylmethacrylamide, N,N-diethylmethacrylamide,N,N-dipropylmethacrylamide, N,N-diisopropylmethacrylamide,N,N-dibutylmethacrylamide, N,N-diisobutylmethacrylamide,N,N-di-t-butylmethacrylamide, N,N-diheptylmethacrylamide,N,N-dioctylmethacrylamide, N,N-di-t-octylmethacrylamide,N,N-didodecylmethacrylamide, N,N-dioctadecylmethacrylamide,N,N-dimethylolmethacrylamide, N,N-diacetylmethacrylamide,N,N-didiacetonemethacrylamide, acryloylpiperidine, acryloylmorpholine,acryloylthiomorpholine, and acryloylpyrrolidine. These may be used aloneor in combination of two or more thereof.

The added amount of the water-soluble polymer is preferably in the rangeof 0.01 part or more by weight and 10 parts or less by weight for 100parts by weight of the polishing slurry. If this added amount is toosmall, highly-flattening property may be not obtained. If the amount istoo large, the polishing slurry may gelatinize so that the fluiditythereof may lower.

A different water-soluble polymer may also be used in the polishingslurry of the invention in order to control liquid properties thereof,such as the viscosity, pH and surface tension thereof. The water-solublepolymer is not limited to any especial kind, and examples thereofinclude alginic acid, pectic acid, carboxymethylcellulose,polymethacrylic acid, poly(ammonium methacrylate), polymaleic acid,polyitaconic acid, polyfumaric acid, poly(p-styrenecarboxylic acid),polyacrylic acid, polyacrylamide, poly(ammonium acrylate), poly(amideacid), and an ammonium salt of poly(amide acid); vinyl polymers such aspolyvinyl alcohol and polyvinyl pyrrolidone; and nonionic surfactants.The weight-average molecular weight of the water-soluble polymer ispreferably 500 or more.

Besides the above-mentioned materials, additives which are ordinarilyadded to a polishing slurry, such as colorants such as dye and pigment,and a pH adjustor, may be incorporated into the polishing slurry of thepresent invention as long as the effects and advantages of the polishingslurry are not damaged.

The pH in the invention is preferably from 6 to 9 from the viewpoint ofthe flattening performance thereof. The pH can be adjusted with an acid,or an alkali component such as ammonia, tetramethylammonium hydroxide.

The polishing slurry of the invention gives a stable property whetherthe polishing slurry is stored as a two-liquid type CMP polishing slurrywherein a cerium oxide slurry comprising the cerium oxide particles, thedispersing agent and water, and an additive solution comprising theadditives containing the water-soluble polymer and water are separated,or as a one-liquid type polishing slurry containing the additivesbeforehand.

In the case that the polishing slurry is stored as the two-liquid typepolishing slurry, wherein the cerium oxide slurry and the additivesolution are separated, the flattening property and the polishing ratecan be adjusted by changing the proportion between these two liquids atwill. In the case of the two-liquid type, the following method isadopted: a method of sending the additive solution and the cerium oxideslurry through separate pipes, jointing these pipes to mix themimmediately before an exit in a supplying pipe, and supplying themixture to a polishing table, or a method of mixing the additive slurrywith the cerium oxide slurry immediately before polishing.

Examples of the method for producing an inorganic insulator film towhich the CMP polishing slurry of the present invention is appliedinclude low-pressure CVD and plasma CVD methods. In order to form ansilicon oxide film by the low-pressure CVD method, monosilane: SiH₄ isused a Si source, and oxygen: O₂ is used as an oxygen source. The filmis obtained by conducting this SiH₄—O₂based oxidization reaction at alow temperature of 400° C. or lower. As the case may be, the film isthermally treated at a temperature of 1000° C. or lower after the CVD.When the film is doped with phosphorus: P to flatten the surface byhigh-temperature reflow, it is preferred to use SiH₄—O₂—PH₃ basedreaction gas.

Plasma CVD has an advantage that chemical reaction for which hightemperature is necessary under ordinary thermal equilibrium can beattained at low temperature. As the method for generating plasma, twotypes of capacitive coupling and inductive coupling types can be given.Reactive gas therefor may be SiH₄—N₂O based gas using SiH₄ as a Sisource and using N₂O as an oxygen source, or TEOS—O₂ based gas usingtetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as a Si source (TEOS-plasma CVD). The substratetemperature is preferably from 250 to 400° C. and the reaction pressureis preferably from 67 to 400 Pa. The silicon oxide film to which thepolishing slurry of the invention is applied in this way may be dopedwith phosphorus, boron or some other element. Similarly, in order toform a silicon nitride film by low-pressure CVD, dichlorosilane: SiH₂Cl₂is used as a Si source and ammonia: NH₃ is used as a nitrogen source.The film is obtained by conducting this SiH₂Cl₂—NH₃ based oxidizationreaction at a high temperature of 900° C. In plasma CVD, reaction gastherefor may be SiH₄—NH₃ based gas using SiH₄ as a Si source and usingNH₃ as a nitrogen source. The substrate temperature is preferably from300 to 400° C.

The polishing method of the present invention is characterized bypolishing a film to be polished on a substrate with the CMP polishingslurry of the present invention. As the substrate, there can be used,for example, a substrate associated with the production of asemiconductor, that is, a substrate wherein an inorganic insulator filmis formed on a semiconductor substrate, such as a semiconductorsubstrate at the stage when circuit elements and a wiring pattern areformed, or a semiconductor substrate at the stage when circuit elementsare formed. The film to be polished may be the above-mentioned inorganicinsulator layer, for example, a silicon oxide film layer, or a siliconnitride film layer and a silicon oxide film layer.

According to the polishing method of the present invention, a substrateon which a film to be polished is formed is pushed against a polishingcloth of a polishing table, pressure is applied to the substrate, andthen the film to be polished on the substrate and the polishing clothare relatively moved while the CMP polishing slurry of the presentinvention is supplied between the film and the polishing cloth.Specifically, it is advisable to move at least one of a substrate on apolishing device and a polishing table thereof. The substrate on whichthe film to be polished may be a semiconductor substrate on which atleast a silicon oxide film layer is formed as described above. Thefollowing will describe the polishing method of the invention about acase of a semiconductor substrate on which an inorganic insulator layeris formed.

A silicon oxide film layer or silicon nitride film layer formed on asemiconductor substrate is polished with the above-mentioned CMPpolishing slurry, thereby removing irregularities in the surface of thesilicon oxide film layer so that the surface can be rendered a flat andsmooth face over the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate. Themethod can be used for shallow trench isolation also. In order to usethe method for shallow trench isolation, it is preferred that the ratioof the rate of polishing a silicon oxide film to that of polishing asilicon nitride film, that is, the silicon oxide film polish rate/thesilicon nitride film polish rate is 10 or more. If this ratio is lessthan 10, the difference between the silicon oxide film polish rate andthe silicon nitride film polish rate is small. Thus, at the time ofperforming shallow trench isolation, the polishing tends to be unable tobe stopped at a given position. When this ratio is 10 or more, thesilicon nitride film polish rate becomes smaller so that the polishingis easily stopped. Thus, this case is more preferable for shallow trenchisolation. In order to use the present method for shallow trenchisolation, it is preferred that scratches are less generated at the timeof the polishing.

As a polishing device therefor, there is used an ordinary polishingdevice having a holder for holding a semiconductor substrate, and apolishing table to which a polishing cloth (pad) is attached and towhich a motor the rotation number of which can be changed and othermembers are fitted. The polishing cloth on the polishing table is notlimited to any especial kind, and the following can be used therefor:ordinary nonwoven fabric, foamed polyurethane, porous fluorine-containedresin, or the like. It is preferred to subject the polishing cloth togrooving working in order for the CMP polishing slurry to be collected.Conditions for the polishing are not limited. The rotation number of thetable is preferably as low as 200 rpm or less in order for thesemiconductor substrate not to fly out therefrom, and the pressureapplied to the semiconductor substrate is preferably about 98 kPa (1kg/cm²) or less not to generate scratches therein after the polishing.During the polishing, the polishing slurry of the present invention iscontinuously supplied to the polishing cloth with a pump or the like.The supply amount of the polishing slurry is not limited, and ispreferably such an amount that the surface of the polishing cloth isconstantly coated with the polishing slurry.

It is preferred that the semiconductor substrate after the end of thepolishing is sufficiently washed with flowing water and subsequentlywater droplets attaching on the semiconductor substrate are swept offwith a spin drier or the like so as to dry the substrate. After aflattened shallow trench is made in this way, aluminum wires are formedon the silicone oxide insulator film layer and further a silicon oxideinsulator film is again formed between the wires and on the wires by theabove-mentioned method. Thereafter, the above-mentioned CMP polishingslurry is used to polish the resultant in the same manner, therebyremoving irregularities in the surface of the insulator film to renderthe surface a flat and smooth face over the entire surface of thesemiconductor substrate. This step is repeated given times, therebyproducing a desired number of layers.

In order to globally flatten a film to be polished (silicon oxide film)having irregularities, it is necessary to polish convex regions thereofselectively. When the CMP polishing slurry of the invention, whichcontains a water-soluble polymer, is used, the water-soluble polymeracts as a buffer agent between cerium oxide particles therein and thefilm to be polished. In other words, concave regions of the film havinga small effective polish load are protected but convex regions of thefilm having a large effective polish load are selectively polishedthrough exclusion of the water-soluble polymer so that the film can beglobally polished without depending the pattern thereof largely.

The CMP polishing slurry and the polishing method of the invention makeit possible to polish not only a silicon oxide film formed on asemiconductor substrate but also the following: an silicon oxide filmformed on a wiring board having given wires; inorganic insulator filmsmade of glass, silicon nitride or the like; films which mainly comprisepolysilicon, Al, Cu, Ti, TiN, W, Ta, TaN or the like; optical glassessuch as a photo-mask, a lens and a prism; inorganic electroconductivefilms made of ITO or the like; optical integrated circuits, opticalswitching elements and optical waveguides, which are made of glass andcrystalline material; optical monocrystals such as end faces of opticalfibers and scintillators; solid laser monocrystals; sapphire substratesfor blue laser LEDs; semiconductor monocrystals made of SiC, GaP, GaAsor the like; glass substrates for magnetic discs; magnetic heads; andothers.

EXAMPLES

The following will describe the present invention by way of workingexamples and comparative examples. However, the present invention is notlimited to these working examples. The word “part(s)” in synthesisexamples indicates part(s) by weight.

[Preparation Example of Cerium Oxide Particles]

Into a container made of platinum was put 2 kg of cerium carbonatehydrate, and the compound was fired at 800° C. in the air for 2 hours,thereby yielding about 1 kg of yellowish white powder. The phase of thispowder was identified by an X-ray diffraction method. As a result, itwas verified that the material thereof was cerium oxide. The particlesize of the fired powder was from 30 to 100 μm. The surface of the firedpowder particles was observed with a scanning electron microscope. As aresult, grain boundaries of cerium oxide were observed. The diameter ofprimary particles of cerium oxide surrounded by the grain boundaries wasmeasured. As a result, the value at the center of the volumedistribution thereof was 190 nm, and the maximum value was 500 nm.

A jet mill was used to dry-pulverize 1 kg of the cerium oxide powder.The pulverized particles were observed with the scanning electronmicroscope. As a result, small particles having sizes equivalent to theprimary particle sizes were observed and further large particles notpulverized, 1 to 3 μm in size, and particles not pulverized, 0.5 to 1 μmin size, were mixed.

[Synthesis of Water-Soluble Polymer]

Synthesis Example 1

Into a 2-L flask were charged 400 parts of deionized water, and thetemperature of the water was raised to 90° C. while the water wasstirred in the atmosphere of nitrogen gas. Thereafter, a substancewherein 1 part of a polymerization initiator (trade name: “V-085”,manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was dissolved in100 parts of N,N-dimethylacrylamide was poured into the flask over 1hour. Thereafter, the temperature of the solution was kept at 90° C. for5 hours, and then the solution was cooled to room temperature. Theresultant was taken out, so that a water-soluble polymer solution wasobtained.

Synthesis Example 2

Under the same conditions as in Synthesis Example 1, 95 parts ofacryloylmorpholine and 5 parts of acrylic acid were polymerized. Theresultant was cooled to room temperature, and adjusted into a pH of 7.8with ammonia water. In this way, a water-soluble polymer solution wasobtained.

Synthesis Example 3

Under the same conditions as in Synthesis Example 1, 95 parts ofN-isopropylacrylamide and 5 parts of acrylic acid were polymerized. Theresultant was cooled to room temperature, and adjusted into a pH of 7.5with ammonia water. In this way, a water-soluble polymer solution wasobtained.

[Production of Polishing Slurry]

Example 1 Polishing Slurry Example 1

One kilogram of the cerium oxide particles prepared as described above,23 g of a (40% by weight) solution of an ammonium salt of polyacrylicacid in water, and 8977 g of deionized water were mixed. While thesolution was stirred, the solution was subjected to ultrasonicdispersion for 10 minutes. The resultant slurry was filtrated with a1-μm filter, and further deionized water was added thereto so as toyield a 5% by weight cerium oxide slurry.

The pH of the slurry was 8.3. In order to measure the slurry particleswith a laser diffraction type particle size distribution meter, theslurry was diluted into an appropriate concentration. The measurementwas then made. As a result, the central value of the particle sizes was190 nm.

Six hundred grams of the above-mentioned cerium oxide slurry (solidcontent: 5% by weight), 30 g of the water-soluble polymer solutionobtained in Synthesis Example 1, and 2370 g of deionized water weremixed to produce a cerium oxide polishing slurry (solid content: 1% byweight) containing the water-soluble polymer. The pH of the polishingslurry was 8.1. In order to measure the slurry particles with the laserdiffraction type particle size distribution meter, the slurry wasdiluted into appropriate concentrations. The measurement was then made.As a result, the central values of the particle sizes were each 190 nm.

Example 2 Polishing Slurry Example 2

Preparation and evaluation were performed in the same way as inPolishing Slurry Example 1 except that the solution of Synthesis Example2 was used as the water-soluble polymer solution. The pH of thepolishing slurry was 7.8. In order to measure the slurry particles withthe laser diffraction type particle size distribution meter, the slurrywas diluted into appropriate concentrations. The measurement was thenmade. As a result, the central values of the particle sizes were each190 nm.

Example 3 Polishing Slurry Example 3

Preparation and evaluation were performed in the same way as inPolishing Slurry Examples 1 and 2 except that the solution of SynthesisExample 3 was used as the water-soluble polymer solution. The pH of thepolishing slurry was 7.5. In order to measure the slurry particles withthe laser diffraction type particle size distribution meter, the slurrywas diluted into appropriate concentrations. The measurement was thenmade. As a result, the central values of the particle sizes were each190 nm.

[Polishing of Insulator Film]

Example 1 Polishing Example 1

An Al wire line region having a line/space width of 0.05 to 5 mm and aheight of 1000 nm was formed on a Si substrate of 200 mm in diameter,and then a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 2000 nm was formedthereon by TEOS-plasma CVD, so as to produce a pattern wafer.

The pattern wafer produced as described above, which may be referred toas the wafer hereinafter, was set onto a holder of a polishing device,an adsorbing pad onto which a substrate to be held would be fitted beingattached to the holder. The holder was put onto a polishing table, 600mm in diameter, which a polishing pad (polishing cloth) made of a porousurethane resin was attached to, so as to direct the insulator film(silicon oxide film) face of the wafer downwards. Furthermore, theworking load thereon was set to 29.4 kPa (300 gf/cm²).

While the cerium oxide polishing slurry (solid content: 1% by weight) ofPolishing Slurry Example 1 was dropped out on the polishing table at arate of 200 cc/min, the polishing table and the wafer were rotated at 50rpm for 2 minutes to polish the insulator film of the pattern wafer. Thewafer after the polishing was sufficiently washed with pure water, andthen dried. The time for the polishing was changed into 3, 4, 5 and 6minute to polish the above-mentioned pattern wafer in the same way.

A light interference type film thickness measuring device was used tomeasure the difference in the film thickness before and after thepolishing, and then any polish rate was calculated. The polish rateratio of R₅/R₁ and that of R₃/R₁, wherein R₁ is the polish rate of aline region having a line/space width of 1 mm, R₃ is the polish rate ofa line region having a line/space width of 3 mm, and R₅ is the polishrate of a line region having a line/space width of 5 mm, became largerwith the passage of the polishing time in the period when the polishingtime was from 2 to 4 minutes, and were substantially constant in theperiod when the polishing time was from 4 to 6 minutes.

In the case of the polishing time of 4 minutes, wherein thepattern-width dependency of the polish rate became constant, the polishrate R₁ of the line region having the line/space width of 1 mm was 344nm/minute (polish amount: 1376 nm), the polish rate R₃ of the lineregion having the line/space width of 3 mm was 335 nm/minute (polishamount: 1340 nm), the polish rate R₅ of the line region having theline/space width of 5 mm was 315 nm/minute (polish amount: 1260 nm), andthe polish rate ratio of R₅/R₁ and that of R₃/R₁ were 0.92 and 0.97,respectively. The polish amount of the line region of each of theline/space widths in the case that the polishing time was 5 minutes and6 minutes was substantially equal to that in the case that the polishingtime was 4 minutes. It was found out that the polishing hardly advancedafter the 4 minutes.

Example 2 Polishing Example 2

A pattern wafer was polished in the same way as in Polishing Example 1except that the cerium oxide polishing slurry of Polishing SlurryExample 2 was used. In the same way as in Polishing Example 1, the lightinterference type film thickness measuring device was used to measurethe difference in the film thickness before and after the polishing, andthen any polish rate was calculated. The polish rate ratio of R₅/R₁ andthat of R₃/R₁, wherein R₁ is the polish rate of a line region having aline/space width of 1 mm, R₃ is the polish rate of a line region havinga line/space width of 3 mm, and R₅ is the polish rate of a line regionhaving a line/space width of 5 mm, became larger with the passage of thepolishing time in the period when the polishing time was from 2 to 4minutes, and were substantially constant in the period when thepolishing time was from 4 to 6 minutes.

In the case of the polishing time of 4 minutes, wherein thepattern-width dependency of the polish rate became constant, the polishrate R₁ of the line region having the line/space width of 1 mm was 343,nm/minute (polish amount: 1372 nm), the polish rate R₃ of the lineregion having the line/space width of 3 mm was 335 nm/minute (polishamount: 1338 nm), the polish rate R₅ of the line region having theline/space width of 5 mm was 313 nm/minute (polish amount: 1252 nm), andthe polish rate ratio of R₅/R₁ and that of R₃/R₁ were 0.91 and 0.98,respectively. The polish amount of the line region of each of theline/space widths in the case that the polishing time was 5 minutes and6 minutes was substantially equal to that in the case that the polishingtime was 4 minutes. It was found out that the polishing hardly advancedafter the 4 minutes.

Example 3 Polishing Example 3

A pattern wafer was polished in the same way as in Polishing Examples 1and 2 except that the cerium oxide polishing slurry of Polishing SlurryExample 3 was used. In the same way as in Polishing Examples 1 and 2,the light interference type film thickness measuring device was used tomeasure the difference in the film thickness before and after thepolishing, and then any polish rate was calculated. The polish rateratio of R₅/R₁ and that of R₃/R₁, wherein R₁ is the polish rate of aline region having a line/space width of 1 mm, R₃ is the polish rate ofa line region having a line/space width of 3 mm, and R₅ is the polishrate of a line region having a line/space width of 5 mm, became largerwith the passage of the polishing time in the period when the polishingtime was from 2 to 4 minutes, and were substantially constant in theperiod when the polishing time was from 4 to 6 minutes.

In the case of the polishing time of 4 minutes, wherein thepattern-width dependency of the polish rate became constant, the polishrate R₁ of the line region having the line/space width of 1 mm was 346nm/minute (polish amount: 1384 nm), the polish rate R₃ of the lineregion having the line/space width of 3 mm was 337 nm/minute (polishamount: 1348 nm), the polish rate R₅ of the line region having theline/space width of 5 mm was 317 nm/minute (polish amount: 1268 nm), andthe polish rate ratio of R₅/R₁ and that of R₃/R₁ were 0.92 and 0.97,respectively. The polish amount of the line region of each of theline/space widths in the case of the polishing times of 5 minutes and 6minutes, was substantially equal to that in the case that the polishingtime was 4 minutes. It was found out that the polishing hardly advancedafter the 4 minutes.

Comparative Example 1

(Production of Cerium Oxide Polishing Slurry]

A 5% by weight cerium oxide slurry was obtained in the same way as inExample 1. The pH of the slurry was 8.3. Six hundred grams of thiscerium oxide slurry (solid content: 5% by weight) was mixed with 2400 gof deionized water to produce a cerium oxide polishing slurry A (solidcontent: 1% by weight). The pH of the polishing slurry was 7.4. In orderto measure the particles in the polishing slurry with the laserdiffraction type particle size distribution meter, the polishing slurrywas diluted into an appropriate concentration, and then the measurementwas made. As a result, the central value of the particle sizes was 190nm.

[Polishing of Insulator Film]

An insulator film on a pattern wafer was polished in the same way as inPolishing Examples 1 to 3 except that the cerium oxide polishing slurryA produced as described above was used as the polishing slurry andfurther the table and the wafer were rotated at 50 rpm for 1 minute. Thewafer after the polishing was sufficiently washed with pure water, andthen dried.

In the same way, the pattern wafer was polished under conditions thatthe polishing time was changed to 1.5 minute and 2 minutes.

In the same way as in Polishing Examples 1 to 3 in Examples, the lightinterference type film thickness measuring device was used to measurethe difference in the film thickness before and after the polishing, andthen any polish rate was calculated.

The polish rate ratio of R₅/R₁ and that of R₃/R₁, wherein R₁ is thepolish rate of a line region having a line/space width of 1 mm, R₃ isthe polish rate of a line region having a line/space width of 3 mm, andR₅ is the polish rate of a line region having a line/space width of 5mm, were substantially constant in the period when the polishing timewas from 1 to 2 minutes. In the case of the polishing time of 1.5minutes, wherein the pattern-width dependency of the polish rate becameconstant in accordance with the polishing time, the polish rate R₁ ofthe line region having the line/space width of 1 mm was 811 nm/minute(polish amount: 1216 nm), the polish rate R₃ of the line region havingthe line/space width of 3 mm was 616 nm/minute (polish amount: 924 nm),the polish rate R₅ of the line region having the line/space width of 5mm was 497 nm/minute (polish amount: 746 nm), and the polish rate ratioof R₅/R₁ and that of R₃/R₁ were 0.61 and 0.76, respectively. In the caseof the polishing time of 2 minutes, at line regions having line/spacewidths ranging from 0.05 to 1 mm, the Al wires underlying the siliconoxide film were also polished.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide apolishing slurry and a polishing method which make it possible to polisha film made of silicon oxide or the like effectively and rapidly andfurther control the process therefor easily in CMP technique forflattening an interlayer insulating film, a BPSG film, an insulator filmfor shallow trench isolation, and other films.

1. A CMP polishing slurry, comprising cerium oxide particles, adispersing agent, a water-soluble polymer wherein the added amount ofthe water-soluble polymer is 0.01 part or more by weight and 10 parts orless by weight for 100 parts by weight of the polishing slurry, andwater, wherein the water-soluble polymer is a polymer containing astructural unit made of at least one polymerizable monomer selected fromthe group consisting of the following general formula (I):

wherein R₁ represents hydrogen, a methyl group, a phenyl group, a benzylgroup, a chloro group, a difluoromethyl group, a trifluoromethyl group,or a cyano group; and R₂ and R₃ each independently represent hydrogen,an alkyl chain of C₁ to C₁₈, a methylol group, or an acetyl groupprovided that the case that both of R₂ and R₃ are hydrogen is excluded.2. A polishing method for polishing a film to be polished, wherein asubstrate on which the film is formed is pushed against a polishingcloth of a polishing table, pressure is applied to the substrate, andthen at least one of the substrate and the polishing table are movedwhile the CMP polishing slurry according to claim 1 is supplied betweenthe film and the polishing cloth.
 3. The CMP polishing slurry accordingto claim 1, wherein the dispersing agent is at least one selected from apolymeric dispersing agent containing an ammonium salt of acrylic acidas a polymerizable monomer component, water-soluble anionic dispersingagents, water-soluble non-ionic dispersing agents, water-solublecationic dispersing agents, and water-soluble amphoteric dispersingagents.
 4. The CMP polishing slurry according to claim 1, wherein thedispersing agent contains at least polymeric dispersing agent containingan ammonium salt of acrylic acid as a polymerizable monomer component.5. The CMP polishing slurry according to claim 1, wherein the amount ofthe dispersing agent is 0.01 parts or more by weight and 2.0 or lessparts by weight for 100 parts by weight of the cerium oxide particles.6. A CMP polishing slurry, comprising cerium oxide particles, adispersing agent a water-soluble polymer wherein the added amount of thewater-soluble polymer is 0.01 part or more by weight and 10 parts orless by weight for 100 parts by weight of the polishing slurry, andwater, wherein the concentration of the cerium oxide particles in theCMP polishing slurry is within the range of 0.5% by weight or more to20% by weight or less, wherein the water-soluble polymer is a polymercontaining a structural unit made of at least one polymerizable monomerselected from the group consisting of the following general formula (I):

wherein R₁ represents hydrogen, a methyl group, a phenyl group, a benzylgroup, a chloro group, a difluoromethyl group, a trifluoromethyl group,or a cyano group; and R₂ and R₃ each independently represent hydrogen,an alkyl chain of C₁ to C₁₈, a methylol group, or an acetyl groupprovided that the case that both of R₂ and R₃ are hydrogen is excluded.7. The CMP polishing slurry according to claim 6, wherein the dispersingagent is at least one selected from a polymeric dispersing agentcontaining an ammonium salt of acrylic acid as a polymerizable monomercomponent, water-soluble anionic dispersing agents, and water-solublenon-ionic dispersing agents, water-soluble cationic dispersing agents,and water-soluble amphoteric dispersing agents.
 8. The CMP polishingslurry according to claim 6, wherein the dispersing agent contains atleast polymeric dispersing agent containing an ammonium salt of acrylicacid as a polymerizable monomer component.
 9. The CMP polishing slurryaccording to claim 6, wherein the amount of the dispersing agents is0.01 part or more by weight and 2.0 or less parts by weight for 100parts by weight of the cerium oxide particles.